Raised concerns over China-Pakistan Economic Corridor: VK Singh

Kolkata, May 7 (IANS) Minister of State for External Affairs Gen V.K. Singh (retd.) on Saturday said India has raised its concerns with China over the development of the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) and was awaiting its response.

“There are problems with the project (CPEC). It is through a territory which belongs to India,” the minister said.

He was speaking on the sidelines of a seminar on “India-China Relations – The Future” organised by the Research Centre for East and North East Regional Studies, Kolkata.

“We expressed our points that China needs to consider… what exactly is the status of the territory. We will wait a bit for what China says about it,” Singh said.

He, however, said there was “no time limit” as to when China would respond.

In a written reply to the Rajya Sabha, the minister had recently said China was assisting Pakistan in the development of CPEC. “Some of the proposed projects under CEPC are in Pakistan occupied Kashmir,” he had said.

Former National Security Adviser M.K. Narayanan also termed CPEC as a major threat to India.

“CPEC must be viewed as a major threat. Both countries (Chian and Pakistan) have a common intention to undermine India’s position in the region,” he said.

He further said that Chinese ‘One Belt, One Road’ (OBOR) initiative could have adverse impact on relations between India and China.

“Chinese OBOR initiative could possibly have the most degrading impact on relations between India and China,” Narayanan said.